Breaking Records
by Viscaria-Flora
Summary: There's a new game that came out that everyone is hooked on playing, and Shark and Yuma are no exception. In an attempt to impress Yuma, Shark does all that he can to break his record. Sharkbait


Disclaimer: I own nothing here.

Oh my gosh, what is this? I made a Flappy Bird drabble. Yeah, I know. Please don't kill me.

Yes, I know, they all have IPod touches because that's how I play Flappy Bird. I'm sorry, just USE YOUR IMAGINATION OK— THEY'RE ALL KIDS IN JAPAN I KNOW BUT LET'S PRETEND THEY EXIST AND FLAPPY BIRD IS A THING.

* * *

"Aww!"

"Dang it! So close!"

"Aw man, I hate this game!"

Shark groaned for perhaps the fiftieth time that day. He shot a stern look in Yuma's direction, gritting his teeth in annoyance. His friend was deeply immersed in a game on his IPod, screaming at it every other few seconds. Needless to say it was pissing him off to no end. He stood up and walked over to where Yuma sat, looking over his shoulder. "Hey, Yu—"

"Gaaah!" Yuma interrupted Shark with another shout, apparently startled at his arrival. He clutched onto his device for dear life, head whirling back to look up at him. "Oh God, Shark, you scared me!"

It took nearly all of Shark's willpower not to roll his eyes at him. He knelt beside him to take a seat, frowning at him. "Yeah, only 'cuz you're so into your phone."

Yuma blinked. "… It's an IPod, Shark."

"Whatever, same thing."

The younger boy flashed him a wide grin, holding the device for him to see. "Look! It's a new game that came out! It's really popular; everyone's playing it!"

Shark glanced at the cartoonish graphics of the game. It seemed like it would be a cute game (though the bird was a little ugly), but it's nothing that piqued his interest. "Everyone's playing it?"

"Yeah! I'm pretty sure. It's all everyone talks about."

Shark leaned back, folding his arms over his chest. "Alright. Show me how to play this game."

Yuma nodded excitedly and sat closer to him, leaning over for his friend to see. Shark pulled himself back again in response. He was close, too close, he thought to himself. He could smell his scent, which wasn't unpleasant in the slightest, but it made his face feel hot and his hands begin to sweat. He resisted the urge to look away and hide his face, but Yuma was practically laying on him. "Look, Shark," he chirped, tapping on the screen. "This is how you play."

The purple-haired boy turned his attention away from his friend and to the screen, watching. Yuma's thumb tapped the screen repeatedly, and it kept the bird up in the air. Soon green pipes started appearing on the top and bottom of the screen, and Yuma's tapping sped up and slowed down for the bird to fly through the gaps. So, you just have to make the bird dodge the pipes? Seems simple enough.

Shark jumped when Yuma screeched as the bird crashed into a pipe. He nearly shoved him off, growling, "Hey! Could you not scream like that when you're right by my ear!?"

Yuma clenched his teeth and suppressed a fake sob, sitting upright again. "Sorry, I just… I can't beat my score of 10! It's so hard!"

_Everything is difficult for you, moron, _Shark thought bitterly, reaching for and snatching Yuma's IPod. "It looks easy. Let me try it."

Instantly Yuma stopped crying and beamed, scooting closer again. "Ok!"

Shark rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. The high score was 10, right? Pfft, he could beat that easily, he was sure. He tapped on the screen to get past the main menu, and then began to play. The bird was flying whacky, only because he had a hard time getting the rhythm right (can you blame him, it's his first try). He couldn't even get through the first pipe before he crashed and fell to the floor. He blankly stared at the screen for a few long moments, and when he came to, he realized Yuma was laughing.

"Oh man, Shark! You couldn't even get one!" he chortled, patting Shark's arm.

The purple-haired boy scowled at him and yanked his arm away. "Shut up! I was just practicing with the bird."

"So try again, then!"

Damn. He wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy, was he? To be expected of Yuma; he's just a kid after all. Shark restarted the game and tried again, managing to control the bird's flight a lot more than his first time.

Not that it really mattered. He still crashed before getting a single point.

"What the hell?" he cursed, glaring at the fallen bird. "I kept tapping the screen. Why didn't you go up, stupid?"

Again, Yuma was laughing. "Oh man, this is so much better when someone else is playing it!"

Shark restarted yet again, and made sure to at least fly through the first set of pipes, and… success! He got a point! He mentally congratulated himself before the second set of pipes came by, and—yes! A second point! He was on a roll.

Yuma snorted and hid behind his hand, stifling a snicker. It was quiet, sure, but enough to distract him from making the third set of pipes. The bird crashed and fell to the ground, and Shark growled, glaring at Yuma. "Don't laugh! You made me crash, idiot!"

"Sorry, sorry," Yuma burst out giggling, hugging his stomach. "It's so hard not to when you see the crash coming!"

Shark whacked Yuma on the head with the electronic and stood up, ignoring the wail that came afterward. "You know what? I don't have time for this. I'm going home."

"Wait, Shark!" Yuma rubbed the top of his head and leaped up onto his feet, making sure the other didn't take any steps away from him. He stood in front of him and grinned, showing him the game again. "This means I'm better than you at more than just dueling!"

Shark gave him a quizzical look. "Huh?" Since when in hell did it mean that?

Yuma didn't answer his question, already taking off for home. "See you tomorrow!"

"Wait, Yuma! Damn it!" Shark cursed under his breath, eyes following his friend as he sped away. Jeez, he's such an idiot… Why does he have to be so cute? And as stupid as it sounded, Yuma had indeed _challenged _him, saying he was better at something than he was. There was no way he was going to just let it be. He had to beat Yuma.

And who knows? Maybe he would be so impressed at his achievement that it'll give him another reason to admire him?

He hurried over to his bike to drive home. _I'll show you, Yuma. Just you wait until tomorrow._

* * *

"Damn it!"

"Come on, you stupid bird, _fly_!"

"I'm going to run this piece of shit over with my bike if I don't get any higher than six…!"

Rio placed her chin in her hand, sighing. That's all she'd been hearing the entire time since she had gotten home: Shark's obnoxious shouting at his IPod. It was easy to deal with when she had her headphones on, but now that her mp3 player was dead, she had nothing to block out the screams. She tapped her fingernails on the table in mild irritation, turning around to find her brother curled up on the couch, eyes locked on the device in his hands. That sight was pitiful, but there was probably nothing she could say or do to break him from his trance.

"Ryoga," she called to him, standing from her chair and walking to the couch, "are you still playing that game?"

Shark let out a distressed sigh as the bird crashed into a pipe, glaring up at his sister. "Yes, I am, and you distracted me. What do you want?"

Rio placed her hands on her hips, frowning. "I want you to keep it down. You're being really loud, and it's 8 o' clock at night! You better not be playing this in two hours."

Shark sat back, tapping the screen again to get to the main menu. "Oh yeah? And what if I am?"

"I'll chuck your IPod out the window so you'll never play it again."

_And she's serious, too. _Shark rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I just want to get past 10."

Rio just looked him over before taking a seat beside him. "Why? What's the big deal? Did someone challenge you or something?"

"Yuma did."

Rio smirked. That was to be expected. She watched as he restarted the game, tapping the screen and maneuvering the bird through the gaps between the pipes. 1… 2… 3… Shark was holding his breath, as if even the slightest movement besides his finger tapping would ruin his chances of breaking his high score. 4… 5… 6… He's slowly releasing his breath, and she's just watching quietly, making sure she doesn't divert even a speck of his attention from the game. 7— he's relaxing, now—8… 9… 10…

"Yes," he muttered to himself, a smile forming on his lips. He was definitely happy, and he kept on going, though he was getting fidgety now. 11… 12… 13… 14…

Crash! The bird went tumbling down, but unlike before, Shark sits back in relief, wearing a victorious grin on his face. "I did it," he turned to his sister, holding the screen in her direction for her to look. "I beat Yuma's record! He had 10, I have 14."

"… Great," she flashed him a half-hearted smile. "That means you're going to stop playing, right?"

Shark didn't answer her question. He leaped up and ran to the phone, taking it in his hand and dialing Yuma's number. He wanted to gloat in his face that he beat his and Yuma's record, looking forward to the praise that was bound to come his way.

Not only that, but he'll get to hear Yuma's voice again. It can be annoying at times, but it was bright and cheerful and happy. It was enough to lift his mood every now and then, when he wasn't around to actually smile again.

Oh God… he didn't develop a crush on that moron, did he?

No time to answer his question: _"Hello?"_

It was Yuma. Shark cleared his throat and spoke, trying to keep his voice as steady as he could (why was he so nervous?). "Hey Yuma, it's Shark."

"_Oh! Hey Shark!" _He seemed happy to hear him, which made his heart skip a beat. _"How come you're calling so late?"_

Shark paused. It would sound stupid if he called just to tell him about his record, right? He tried to think of another thing to bring up. "No particular reason. I wanted to ask you, have you kept in contact with Kaito lately?"

"_Not really,"_ was the reply. _"I thought you didn't like him, though. Why do you ask?"_

"Well," he cleared his throat again, "it just doesn't seem fair to only talk to him when we're in trouble, right? Friends have to talk to each other on a normal basis to keep in touch." Oh _God_, how much stupider could he sound? He even heard Rio groaning behind him.

There was a pause on the other line, though short lived. _"Hmm… You have a point. I'll call him later and tell him you asked for him!"_

Not Shark's intentions, but whatever. Yuma took the bait anyway. "You do that, thanks."

"_By the way, did you download that game we were playing earlier? I bet you're hooked on it now, huh?"_

Oh good, Yuma brought the subject up himself. Shark sighed in relief, then smirked, confidence rising. "Of course I'm not hooked. But I did download it, and I beat your record, Yuma."

"_You did! That's great!" _There we go… just keep it up, Yuma. Stroke his ego. _"I did too!"_

…

Shark stared at the phone. What did he just say? Did he say he…? "… Say what?"

"_I beat my record! I got up to 22!" _He sounded so proud of himself. He must have had a lot of time on his hands to get that high. Then again, he never does his homework, so… _"What did you get, Shark?"_

Oh no. He couldn't stand the thought of being embarrassed about this whole thing now. He swallowed hard and quickly thought of a lie. "26." He tossed Rio a dirty look as she snorted behind her hand.

A gasp, and then more chitchat from Yuma. _"Really? That's awesome! You really are good at everything you do, Shark!" _That calmed Shark down a bit, though the praise was certainly undeserving. _"How did you do it?"_

Shark bit his lower lip. How much longer would he have to play along with his stupid lie? "You know… it took forever, but I finally got it."

"_It is hard, isn't it? But hey, you did good to get as far as you did."_ Yuma sounded proud of him, and… was that a hint of sadness? Maybe because he thought he didn't get nearly as high as Shark supposedly did? His heart sank, and he continued listening to Yuma's words. _"Some people are naturals at this game, and maybe I'm just not one of them. I'm good at dueling, though, aren't I? That's even better than this game."_

"Of course it is," Shark nodded, leaning against the wall and tilting his head back. The guilt was eating him alive. "Hey, don't give up on yourself, ok? 22 is still a really high score. Who knows? Maybe in due time you'll beat my record."

That seemed to cheer Yuma up, for the sad tone in his voice was gone. _"You really think so? You're a good friend, Shark! I'll keep on going and make you proud!"_

"Good." The purple-haired boy glanced over to Rio, who was admiring her nails, and crossed his legs. "Listen, it's late, and my head hurts from straining my eyes. I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Don't stay up too late playing that game."

"_You got it! G'night, Shark! Oh…" _a small pause; _"… Never mind. See you tomorrow, and thanks for the call!"_

Shark waited for Yuma to hang up first, then put the phone back himself. What was that pause for? He wondered about it for a moment, then walked back to the couch, reaching for his IPod.

Rio lowered her hand, glancing up at him. "Sup, Liar? Gonna try and get twenty-six?"

"No." Shark tapped on his IPod screen a few times, and then tossed the device down on the cushion. "I deleted the stupid game."

His sister blinked. "Why?"

"Because I'm getting all worked up over something so pathetic." Shark ran his fingers through his hair, walking into the hallway. "Look, I'm tired, and I want to get to bed now. Let's just forget I lied to Yuma and go on with our lives."

Rio grinned, standing up. "Sure thing, Ryoga. What are you going to tell him when he finds out you deleted the game?"

"I'll tell him I had too many apps on my IPod and this one was just taking up too much space."

* * *

Several days later, Shark finds out that Kaito had been playing the same game as everyone else and got a high score of 94. Yuma was now attempting to get past 30. Some people just have way too much time on their hands.


End file.
